A Non-Bender
by mywildimagination
Summary: Pema gets the non-bender she wanted, but in a way she never imagined.
1. Chapter 1

The mother of the airbenders had been smooth and impassive before her older children, but tears had started flowing when they took her away from them and were growing into full-on hysterics.

She had obviously been fully indoctrinated into her cause. She railed at her guards, spouting every form of pro-airbending rhetoric known to man, accusing them of being the second airbender genocide. Though they were trained not to be provoked by prisoners, their blood boiled at the thought of being compared to Firelord Sozin. His oppression of mankind was the greatest sin of the benders.

Her preoccupation was so great that, when Amon entered the room, she didn't notice the sudden straightening of the guards as they came to attention. Neither did she notice Amon coming at her from behind, nor his well-placed touch of the hand sending her into an unwilling sleep. He caught her as she slumped out of her sitting position and gently extricated the sleeping child from her arms.

"Hold the infant for me, Lieutenant." And Amon deftly placed the child into his Lieutenant's waiting arms.

"Is he a bender, then? Can you tell?"

"Yes, Lieutenant. I can feel it in his blood."

When his Lieutenant later discovered Amon's true identity, he would think back on this remark and wonder how he had never seen the truth. But at that moment he held out the child as Amon placed his fingers over the tiny forehead and chest. If the baby felt Amon's feather-light touch, he gave no sign of it.

The baby's deep and easy breathing halted for a moment, then picked back up again.

As Amon's hands retreated, he said, "It is a blessing, indeed, to be equalized so young. Never will he know the impurity of his bending." He took the baby from his Lieutenant, placed him in his mother's arms, and left for the rally that he believed would reduce his father and siblings to the same fate.

The avatar would soon restore all Amon had taken away, but she would never think to energybend a child who seemed a born non-bender, a child who would have been among the last airbenders, but was now destined to be the last of the equalized.


	2. Chapter 2

The trolley fare had gone up, and now Rohan didn't have enough for the ferry back to Air Temple Island. He supposed he should have brought extra funds, or tried harder to contact his sister at the university, or just gone back home once he'd gotten to the mainland and realized the trolley fare had gone up. . . . He should have done a lot of things. He tried to explain to the ferryman and asked if he could finish paying the fare once they'd gotten to the island, but the ferryman's superiors had decided against that policy in recent years.

Rohan's last option was to call home and let his parents know what was up, which required a public telephone. Public telephones were becoming more common in Republic City, but were often difficult to find. Rohan thought he'd seen one passing Go Shun Boulevard, and was fairly sure he knew the way.

_Fairly sure_ turned to somewhat sure and then pure confusion. Rohan had made more trips to Republic City than his siblings had when they were fifteen, but rarely alone, and never completely on foot. The layout of the streets made only vague sense to him. By now he was completely lost, and definitely not in a good place.

Sheltered as Rohan was, he knew he had better get out of this part of town before dark, and he better do it fast. It occurred to him how unsafe this excursion was, and several unpleasant scenarios ran through his mind. Shady men and women brushed past him, and he wondered how many were involved in triads. He quickened his pace, only to be almost knocked over by a man walking briskly out of a back alleyway. Rohan took a moment to peer in and see what the man had left.

Another man stood over a pile of brightly colored rags, which seemed to be dressing a woman, as far as Rohan could make out. She moaned softly as the man's fist made contact with her face. The man also seemed to be talking to her, though Rohan couldn't hear his words. The man hit her again.

It occurred to Rohan that he should probably leave. The woman certainly wasn't any business of his, and for all he knew, the man might be her husband. That wouldn't make what the man was doing right, but it wouldn't be Rohan's right to interfere – wouldn't it?

But something about the scene made Rohan think the two probably weren't married, and as the man hit her again, Rohan's blood started to boil. No woman should be beaten that way, married or not.

He found a medium-sized rock on the street, likely a piece of broken-off pavement, and hurled it at the woman's attacker. When the stone hit, Rohan decided he'd better run. He was willing to help the woman, but he wasn't exactly a large fifteen-year-old, and this wasn't a particularly small man.

He'd only gotten about twenty feet when a stone wall suddenly blocked his path. The man he provoked must be an earthbender.

"What do you mean by that, kid, throwing rocks at me?" said the earthbender. "I'm here to get my money's worth like any other man."

"I didn't take kindly to how you were treating that woman, sir," said Rohan.

"I don't see how that's any of your business, boy. You're not from around here, are you?" The earthbender eyed Rohan's yellow and orange garb. "You look young for an air monk."

Rohan considered. Maybe if he told him who he was, he would leave him alone. "I'm Master Tenzin's youngest son. If you touch me, the police will be after you. You'll be put away for a long time."

The earthbender smiled. "Perfect."

Before Rohan could make sense of the comment, he had to dodge a rock. The pavement under his feet moved, and he had to jump before it tripped him. Rohan was not an airbender, but he did know how to defend himself. If he could evade enough of the earthbender's attacks so he could get close to him, Rohan could destabilize the man enough to bring him down, and then escape.

Making his way to the earthbender required some ridiculous acrobatics, and even then some of the rocks grazed him and tore at his clothes, but he did it. The earthbender smelled strange, and Rohan wasn't sure whether it was liquor, having come across it painfully few times in his life. But he hoped it might be impairing the earthbender's fighting skills.

The earthbender prepared to fight hand-to-hand. Rocks flew to his fist and shaped themselves around it. Rohan ducked to avoid his fist. A few missed blows later (and some were very close calls), Rohan found his opening. One of the man's lunges caused him to lean far out of his horse stance, and Rohan took advantage of his unbalance. He aimed a kick at the earthbender's legs and leaped out of the way as the earthbender fell face-first to the ground.

Rohan took off as quickly as he could, only to have his way once again blocked by a waterbender and a firebender. Hope drained out of him. He had been lucky to bring down the earthbender, and he wasn't going to stay down for long. His chances against what was obviously a triple-threat triad would not be good.

He dodged blasts of fire and snaked away from the water, but this time the aim was more accurate and twice as fast. In midair he felt something cool and wet around his ankle, and he was dragged across the street. He struggled as hands grabbed his arms and pulled them behind him, covering his mouth as they dragged him back into the alleyway where the woman still was. An added pattering of feet from behind told him the earthbender had returned. "Be careful, Tsuno," said one to the other. "We'll get a good price out of him yet."

Ransom. They're going to hold me for ransom, thought Rohan. Why am I such an idiot? He looked to the woman, who stared at him. He wondered why she hadn't run away yet. Maybe she couldn't. She was beaten very badly.

Rohan heard a sudden crack, and the hands holding him let go. Another set of hands dragged him back, away from the triad. All he could see was a blur of yellow and orange as the triad were thrown against the walls by a great burst of wind. They slumped back, knocked unconscious.

Rohan couldn't remember ever being happier to see his older brother. "Let's go, Rohan," said Meelo.

"Not without her," said Rohan, pointing to the woman. "She's the reason those thugs were after me. She needs a healer."

Meelo sighed. "It would be better if you could leave this kind of chivalry to people with the muscle to back it up." He knelt down over the woman. "What's your name?"

"Miyuki," she breathed back.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?"

Rohan thought this was a stupid question. Wasn't it obvious she needed a healer? But Miyuki said, "Please – no."

Meelo picked her up carefully. "We know a healer," he said. "One that will work off the books. We'll take you to her." Miyuki nodded her thanks and went limp. She must have been fighting to stay conscious a long time.

"I don't think she owed the triad money," Meelo explained as they left the alley behind. "They were probably one of her clients."

"Clients?" asked Rohan.

"Rohan. Look at how she's dressed."

Rohan could see that Miyuki . . . was definitely not dressed modestly. He blushed. "But why beat her?" he asked aloud.

"She's not as young as she used to be," said Meelo. "She has to take what clients she can get, including . . . including men who take pleasure from beating women."

Rohan had never known how desperate the underworld of Republic City was. His father and other leaders of Republic City talked about how the crime rates were going down, but that hadn't saved Miyuki from being part of the crime statistic. Then he realized that according to law, she was the criminal, not the victim. If he and Meelo took her to the hospital, she would be arrested. "Who are we taking Miyuki to?" he asked.

"Korra."

"We want to keep this 'off the books,' but we're taking her to the _avatar_?"

"Korra does stuff like this all the time. When she _has_ time. When the chief of police won't catch her."

"'Stuff like this.' . . . Are you saying she's a vigilante?"

"She keeps it quiet. Healing prostitutes, leaving unconscious mobsters where she knows the police will turn up . . . You do realize you can't repeat any of this, right? Dad doesn't approve."

"Do you keep a lot of secrets from Dad?"

"I love Dad. I love him enough to keep him from getting a heart attack over things he doesn't need to worry about. Korra's plenty old enough to take care of herself." Meelo sighed. "Rohan, that triad was going to sell you for ransom."

"I know."

"How did they know you were from our family?"

"I . . . well, I told them. I thought they would leave me alone if they knew."

"Rohan. I'm going to spare you the lecture about safety, because I know you'll hear enough from Mom and Dad, but you have to understand. People like that have no respect for anything, except the price it will fetch. You don't carry your valuables on your person for them to steal. You are a human valuable. They are experts at that business. Keep your identity at home. Don't leave it for people like that to get their hands on. Okay?"

"Okay," said Rohan. "It's just . . . Meelo?"

"Yeah."

"How do you know so much about . . . well, how it is in the city? Is it just part of living there?"

Meelo gently shifted Miyuki's weight on his arms. "I work special effects in a moving picture studio, Rohan. Not all my colleagues come from wholesome backgrounds. For a lot of them it was their first time doing honest work. I learned a lot about how it is down here."

Rohan remembered when their father discovered Meelo's current occupation. He had been mad Meelo was using the sacred art of airbending for "cheap entertainment thrills," but he hadn't said much about the kind of working atmosphere there. That was, he hadn't said so in front of Rohan.

"Does it bother you?" asked Rohan.

"I was pretty surprised at first," Meelo admitted. "Sometimes I thought about quitting, but that made me feel . . . I don't know, sheltered. Like I couldn't handle those things when they weren't a big deal to everyone else. And I didn't want to give in to Dad. But I like my job, and I think it changed my view of the world. Jinora comes home talking about 'social justice,' but she doesn't know a thing about the kind of problems these people face. I hear about it all the time."

Rohan imagined his older brother, naïve as he had been, surrounded by ex-criminals and ex-crime victims every day. It did not escape him that Meelo "loved" Dad enough to keep heart attack-inducing secrets from him, but not enough to quit a heart attack-inducing job for him.


	3. Chapter 3

Pema cried when she answered the phone. Rohan could hardly understand her through her tears. He'd had no idea how he had worried her. Even worse was when Tenzin took the phone and Rohan realized he'd been shaken up as well. The safety lecture came as expected. Rohan had rarely felt so guilty.

When they both calmed down, Rohan decided it would be safe to ask. "Listen Dad, I met . . . a friend . . . when I was missing. She's been hurt really bad, and Korra is healing her right now . . . but she could use a place to stay. Can she come home with us?"

"What happened?"

"She was beaten badly. By an earthbender."

"What I mean is, how did you meet her?"

"I tried to protect her from him. I know it wasn't very smart, but I had to help."

"Oh, Rohan . . ."

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"Don't be sorry for wanting to help, Rohan. I'm proud of you for that. But you're very lucky Meelo was there."

"I know."

"I'm glad you feel a responsibility to help people, but you also have a responsibility to your family. That includes keeping yourself safe."

"I know. If Meelo hadn't come for me, I wouldn't have done her any good anyway."

"She can stay, Rohan. But just promise me you won't go into the city alone anymore."

"I won't."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Tenzin hung up, and Rohan hit the receiver. An engine's rumble sounded outside the house.

"Dad's home!" said Nilak. He and his little brother JoJo ran to the door and hugged Mako's middle as Mako closed the door behind him. Nilak's older sister, Mara, called out from her seat beside Rohan, "Dad! Guess who's here!"

"Meelo! Rohan! Nice to see you."

"Rohan fought an earthbender!" said Nilak.

"What?" A look of concern crossed Mako's face. "Was he a Triple Threat?"

"I didn't know he was at first," said Rohan as he shifted in his seat. "I didn't even know he was an earthbender!"

"He threw a rock at him." A smile twitched on Mara's lips. "He threw a _rock_ at an _earthbender_!" She couldn't help but laugh.

"This is serious, Mara. Rohan could have gotten hurt very badly. Why did you provoke him, Rohan?"

"He was beating a woman. I know it was a dumb thing to do. But she's in a bad condition, Mako."

Mako sighed. "That's why you're here, isn't it? Korra's healing her."

They all nodded.

Mako went into the other room where Korra and Miyuki were.

Mara said, "I know you probably shouldn't have done it, Rohan, but that was really brave."

Rohan smiled at the eleven-year-old. "Thanks, Mara. You know, it's a good thing you practice your earthbending with me. I don't think I would've lasted so long without it."

"Really?" Mara's golden eyes lit up. "Was he a much better earthbender than me?"

"Well . . . I probably wouldn't have beat him if he'd been sober. But even so, I don't think he was that much better than you. You're going to be a great earthbender."

Her smile widened and she said, "Of course I am."

"What about a waterbender?" said Nilak. "Did you fight a waterbender?"

"The waterbender was the one who got me. I didn't fight him very long."

"Ha!" Nilak said to Mara. "Water beats earth!"

"That doesn't count, Nilak, and you know it."

Nilak stuck his tongue out at her.

Rohan heard a door close, and Korra entered the room. "Okay, kids," she said. "It's time to go to bed."

"Can I stay up until Meelo and Rohan leave?" asked Mara.

"I don't know . . ."

"Please?"

"If you help JoJo get in his pajamas."

"Yes!" She scooped up her little brother and left the room.

"Why can't I stay up, Mom?" said Nilak.

"You have school in the morning."

"So does Mara!"

"She's older, kiddo."

"But _that's not_ -"

"Life's not fair, pal. Get ready for bed."

Nilak made a point of kicking the door on his way out.

Korra let out a breath before turning to Rohan. "Miyuki's okay, but she needs some time to recover. I'm willing to let her stay here, but . . . it's complicated. Mako understands that I need to do underground work, but he's only okay with it because I'm very careful. His job is at stake if I ever get found out. Having her stay here might provoke . . . some uncomfortable questions."

"It's okay," said Rohan. "I asked Dad if she could stay on Air Temple Island. He said yes."

"Good. That's a much better arrangement. Does he know . . . everything about her?"

"He knows I tried to protect her. That's all."

"Good. I don't think he would turn her in to the police if he knew, but just in case, I think it would be better if he didn't."

More secrets. Rohan hadn't always told his parents everything, but holding back information like this sounded . . . wrong.

"I'm sorry, Rohan," said Korra. "But that's how it has to be."

"I know."

"She's awake right now. You should see her and tell her where she'll be staying."

Rohan nodded and went into the other room. The woman inside, to his surprise, was clean and had been dressed in Korra's clothes. She seemed a little older than Korra herself. Rohan found her eyes gray, cold, and expectant.

"Um . . . hi," he said. "I'm Rohan."

Miyuki said nothing back.

"I've arranged for you to stay with us on air temple island. You'll be staying with the other air acolytes."

Still she said nothing.

"Is that okay?"

After a moment, Miyuki nodded.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" was greeted with more silence. Rohan wondered if she'd sustained a vocal injury. He decided he had better leave.

He was about to turn away when Miyuki said, "Why didn't you use your airbending?"

Rohan was surprised. Miyuki's voice was strong and deep, though a little ragged. "What?"

"When you fought them, you didn't airbend at all. Why?"

That was the last question he expected her to ask. He answered her as he had several air acolytes, visitors, and strangers. "I'm not a bender," he told her.

"You're not?"

"No."

"But aren't you – weren't you born during the Equalist Revolution? You were just a baby when your family was captured, right?"

"Yes."

She seemed to mull that over for a minute. "Your parents do only have four children, right?"

"Yes."

"And you're the youngest."

"Yes."

"And you and your mother were both imprisoned separately from your father and siblings."

"That's what my parents told me."

Her eyes widened into another stare.

"Are you a bender?" asked Rohan.

"No," said Miyuki. "I never was . . . and if I were, I would have gone to the avatar and gotten my bending back, wouldn't I?"

"Well, yeah . . . of course."

Miyuki was definitely the strangest woman Rohan had ever met. What kind of woman had he invited into his home?


	4. Chapter 4

"_It's getting late, Rohan," Tenzin said from behind where Rohan sat. "Don't you want to come inside?"_

_Rohan concentrated hard on sitting still, but his little body shivered. The night was getting cold. "I want to stay out here," he said._

"_Well, I have a cloak for you." Tenzin wrapped it around him. "May I join you?"_

_Rohan opened his eyes for the first time in hours and said, "Okay." He watched his father move back from a crouching position in front of him and sit with his legs crossed. They closed their eyes together._

"_I'm glad to see that you're making time to meditate like this," said Tenzin, "but I hope you know that talking to your parents is just as good for answering questions as meditation. It helps give direction and purpose."_

"_I'm just . . . waiting," said Rohan._

"_What are you waiting for?"_

"_To be an airbender."_

"_I see," said Tenzin. "So you've been meditating all this time so you can be an airbender?"_

"_Well, Jinora said that all the Air Nomads were benders because they were really spiritual. So I just need to be more spiritual and then I'll be an airbender like you."_

"_Oh, Rohan." And Rohan felt a pair of arms lifting him up and embracing him._

"_Dad! I'm still meditating!"_

"_I'm sorry," said Tenzin, though he still didn't release him. "Is it all right if we take a break so we can talk?"_

"_I guess."_

_Tenzin gave Rohan a seat on his lap. "It's not your fault you're not an airbender, Rohan. I think you're just as spiritual as your brother and sisters. Maybe even more."_

"_Then why aren't I an airbender, too?"_

"_I don't know, exactly. But your uncle Bumi was never a bender, and your mother's family have been non-benders for generations. You weren't born a bender, either. But that's okay."_

"_But I don't feel okay. I just want to be like you and Jinora and Ikki and Meelo."_

"_You are, Rohan. You still have all the Air Nomad heritage we do. You have the heart and spirit of an airbender. The path to spiritual enlightenment is just as open for you as it is for us. I love you no matter what you are."_

"_But you don't practice forms with me anymore."_

"_Rohan, I never said you had to stop practicing forms with us. You're always welcome to come."_

"_But those ones are too hard for me. You used to teach me easier ones while Jinora and Ikki and Meelo practiced theirs. But then Jinora got her arrows, and all you did was teach Ikki and Meelo, and I can't do the forms they do. So I stopped coming."_

_Tenzin said nothing for awhile. Then, "I'll tell you what. Every day we'll go out, just the two of us, and I'll teach you forms you'll really be able to use. Ones that will help the chi to flow, and defense tactics that don't require bending. They're forms your grandfather used when he was in hiding in the Fire Nation and couldn't bend elements that would give him away. I know you'll learn them well."_

"_Okay, Dad. I'd like that."_

"_I don't want you to feel like I love you any less because you're not an airbender. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way."_

"_I know you love me, Dad. It's just – I really want to be an airbender!"Hot tears fell on Rohan's cheeks and he wiped them away, ashamed. "I want it so bad!"_

_Tenzin pulled him closer. "I'm sorry, son. I'm so sorry."_

_Rohan gave in and let his tears wet his father's robes, wishing he could put into words the impulsive desire he felt when he watched trees in the wind, brushing, shaking, whispering words he could almost hear, inviting him to be one with the wind – as if he were its lost child, and all he had to do was call back to it so it could find him. Rohan tried to figure out how to phrase it, how to make his father understand . . . but every time he imagined the words, they seemed to pull at him inside, as if they were fishing barbs attached to his heart, and if he tossed his father the lines, they would tear him inside out. His longing to be an airbender was deeply personal, a truth only admitted under pressure and pain. That admission was the only thing he could never do, aside from airbending itself._

* * *

Rohan breathed in the same air seven years later as he sat down to meditate again in the outdoor pavilion. It had been on an evening like this that his eight-year-old self had decided to meditate for the better part of twenty-four hours in an attempt to become an airbender. He never tried anything like that again, but he still liked to do his meditation in the late evenings, though his parents hated what it did to his sleeping habits. Rohan had always been an erratic sleeper.

In the distance, he heard a creaking on the dock. Despite needing to focus, he turned his head and saw a figure leaning over one of the boats. Was someone trying to leave? He decided to go down and check.

He was surprised to find Miyuki. She had a small pack over her shoulder and looked just as out of place in Air Acolyte clothing as she had in Korra's. She turned to him with a blank expression.

"I'm leaving, Rohan. Pass along my thanks to your family."

"Where will you go?"

"Back to the city, of course."

"Back to your old job?"

She nodded.

"You shouldn't have to submit to that. You could stay here."

"I'm not meant to be an Air Acolyte."

"That's fine. You can stay anyway."

"No."

"You don't even have to wear Air Acolyte robes if you don't want to."

"I can't stay."

"Why not? Don't tell me actually _want_ to go back to . . . what you were doing."

She snorted slightly, and her mouth came the closest to a smile he'd ever seen on her. "You can't even say the word. You'd never understand."

"You're right. There's a lot I don't understand. Ever since you came here you've been quiet and a loner. You hardly talk to anyone. It's like you don't even want to connect to people."

"Why should I? I have enough to worry about without other people, and other people have enough to worry about without me."

"That just sounds . . . so lonely."

"That's life. Once you accept that you're alone in the world, the better off you'll be."

"So you want to be alone, and you won't accept our help. Is that it?"

"Yes. Now let me go."

"Why? Why won't you let us help you?"

"The kind of help I need is something you'd never be able to give."

"How do you know? Try me."

Miyuki bit her lip, then stood her ground and said, "I'm pregnant. I'm leaving so that I can get it taken out of me."

Rohan had rarely felt so completely floored. What she wanted to do went against everything he'd ever been taught. Snuffing out the life of an unborn child . . .

His reply tumbled from his lips before he realized he'd said it aloud. "How could you want to do such a thing?"

"It's really quite simple. I can hardly feed myself, let alone a child."

"But then . . ." Rohan shook himself and said, "Then that's even more reason for you to stay here. We could support you and your baby. You don't have to . . ."

"No, thank you."

"Why not? Why can't you stay?"

"I could never accept help from a _bender_."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not a bender!"

"Does it even matter? _You_ don't run this place. Your family does. And they're benders."

"So what? If we did take you in, would it be _airbending_ that feeds you? Will it be _airbending_ that keeps you off the street? Was it _earthbending_ that beat you half to death, or was it an earthbend_er_? Was it _waterbending_ that healed you, or was it Korra? It's not bending that does good or evil. Bending is only a tool. It's Tenzin, Pema, Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan who want to help you, not airbending."

Miyuki's voice dropped. "But if your family weren't the last airbenders, would you be in any position to help me? Would you have this temple, this island? And what about the non-benders who dedicate their lives to you, but are treated as servants?"

"We're all servants, Miyuki. Servants in the cause of peace and bala-"

"Don't feed me that garbage, Rohan. They treat your family like royalty, and why? Because they're airbenders. They don't treat you the same way, do they? Oh, they respect you, but only because there's a chance that your children will be airbenders. That's all you are to them. A bitch to breed."

She's trying to bait me, thought Rohan. She's trying to make me angry so I'll make her leave. But I have to show her this isn't about me. It's about her. He let out a frustrated breath. "Are you really so proud that you would choose these bitter feelings over your own safety? Are you going to choose rhetoric over family?"

"I'm not part of your family, Rohan."

"I didn't mean my family. I meant yours. You and the baby you want to get rid of. You've had no one to love, and no one to love you, for years. All you have are these bitter feelings, and they're destroying you. If you learned how to love people, you wouldn't have to focus on staying alive every day. You could be your own person."

"My own person? With a child depending on me every moment? You have no idea what being a mother is like."

"No. But I do know something about being a brother. And I do know a little bit about responsibility. It's not easy, but it helps you become self-reliant."

"So you want me to become self-reliant . . . by accepting help from your family? How is that going to help my situation? I might not be selling my body anymore, but I'll still be stuck with nowhere else to go. If I stay with you, I might as well be in prison, and the baby would be my jailer. I could never leave, because I wouldn't be able to support it anywhere else. I'll never be my own person. There's no use lying to me."

"No, it won't be a lie. We'll find you honest work."

"Oh, sure you will! It won't be difficult at all. Everyone wants to hire ex-prostitutes these days. Just admit you're a naïve little boy and stop trying to help me."

Rohan could see it, then. He could see how easy it would be to let Miyuki go, off the dock, on the dinghy, out of his troubles. To forget her and not look back. But he could also see the kind of person he would become if he chose to let her go. He wouldn't be an evil person. He might even be commended for letting her go. But that was not the person _he_ wanted to be. So he told her, "I am pretty naïve. I'm sorry for that. But I will never turn my back on people who need me."

Rohan hoped his words would soften her, but they seemed to have the opposite effect. "You don't even know who I am!" she shouted. "Miyuki isn't even my real name! Do you really want to know what kind of person you're letting into your home?" Instead of waiting for him to answer, she continued, "I was an Equalist! Amon took me off the streets and put me to work helping him achieve equality. I would have been grateful to anyone just for feeding me, but I also served him because I believed in him! I believed in the world he wanted to create. The only time I _ever_ felt like my own person was when I worked for Amon. I put all my hopes in him . . . and he turned out to be a lie, too."

Rohan couldn't think what to say, except "I'm sorry you were lied to."

"Don't be. Lying is the way of the world, kid. If you're going to feel sorry for anyone, feel sorry for yourself. I was there when your family was captured. I guarded the cell you and your mother were thrown into. And I stood down and watched Amon knock out your mother and take away your bending. She never knew what happened."

"What?"

"You were born a bender, but Amon took it away. And I watched him take away the bending of a three-day-old baby, and I was glad. I'm still glad. I'm glad you grew up different from your siblings, a second-rater in the royal family of airbenders. I'm glad you don't have the power to fly or protect yourself from powerful enemies. I'm glad Amon took your bending, and I wish he had done the same to other babies. If Amon were still alive, I'd still serve him, bender or not. I don't care that he lied to Republic City, because he still would have destroyed the other benders. I hate them. I hate you and everything you stand for."

Rohan heard her words, but only _you were born a bender_ sunk in. Could it be true? If it was, then his whole life had been a lie. He _was_ spiritual enough. He was never different from his brother and sisters. And the feelings he'd had as a little boy, of being the wind's lost child . . . feeling it call to him . . . they were his soul feeling the broken connection to his element, trying to repair it, feeling the loss. Could he call back to the wind now? Would it reclaim him as its lost prodigal son? Would it recognize him after fifteen years of doubt and searching? After fifteen years of ignorance and pain? After fifteen long years?

Fifteen years. Fifteen years, and I never knew.

Rohan's chest heaved, and his tears dripped on the dock. He did not watch Miyuki as she cut the dinghy loose from the harbor and rowed herself away from Air Temple Island. The thought of ever seeing her again did not occur to him.

Only one thought mattered now. He had to find Korra. He had to get his bending back.


End file.
